Contents

Eberts Field was named for Signal Corps Captain Melchior Eberts, a native Arkansan and a West Point Graduate, on 11 August 1916, he was attached to the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps and on 3 March 1917 received the rating of junior military aviation. He was ordered from his station at Rockwell Field, San Diego, California to Columbus Airfield, New Mexico on 3 May 1917. Lieutenant Eberts was killed while making an airplane exhibition flight.[2][3]

In January 1918, the Department of War sent a cadre of officers to the Lonoke, Arkansas area to survey sites for an aviation school, the group decided on a location northwest of Lonoke, and an agreement to lease the land for the Army was concluded, and the construction of some 50 buildings began. It covered ovrer 700 acres. Dozens of wooden buildings served as headquarters, maintenance, and officers’ quarters. Enlisted men had to bivouac in tents.[4] Built as a flying training airfield, the airfield consisted of a row of about a dozen hangars, arranged north-south on the east side of the airfield. Landings and takeoffs were on an all-direction turf field, measuring about 5,200' x 2,460'.

Eberts Field opened in March 1918 as a World War I basic aviators school, approximately 2,500 enlisted men and officers were stationed there between 1918 and 1919; in 1918, flight training occurred in two phases: primary and advanced. Primary training took eight weeks and consisted of pilots learning basic flight skills under dual and solo instruction with a student capacity of 300, after completion of their primary training at Mather, flight cadets were then transferred to another base for advanced training.[4]

Eberts Field ranked second among aviation training fields maintained by the U.S. government, and it was one of the leading training centers for aviators during the war. The first unit stationed there was the 181st Aero Squadron, which was transferred from Kelly Field, Texas. Only a few U.S. Army Air Service aircraft arrived with the 181st Aero Squadron, Most of the Curtiss JN-4 Jennys to be used for flight training were shipped in wooden crates by railcar. Eberts Field served as a base for flight training for the United States Army Air Service; in 1917, flight training occurred in two phases: primary and advanced. Primary training took eight weeks and consisted of pilots learning basic flight skills under dual and solo instruction with a student capacity of 300, after completion of their primary training at Eberts, flight cadets were then transferred to another base for advanced training.[4]

Flying School Detachment (Consolidation of Squadrons A-E), November 1918-November 1919

The Arkansas Gazette reported that it was not uncommon to see several hundred planes flying in formation over the field. Planes from training schools in adjoining states sometimes joined them, with the sudden end of World War I in November 1918, the future operational status of Eberts Field was unknown. Many local officials speculated that the U.S. government would keep the field open because of the outstanding combat record established by Eberts-trained pilots in Europe. Cadets in flight training on 11 November 1918 were allowed to complete their training, however no new cadets were assigned to the base. Also the separate training squadrons were consolidated into a single Flying School detachment, as many of the personnel assigned were being demobilized.[4]

The first newspaper in Arkansas to be delivered by plane was the Arkansas Gazette, on June 18, 1919, Lieutenant C. E. Johnson of Eberts Field delivered 300 papers to Lonoke in his plane to demonstrate the possibilities of aviation. However, World War I ended before the first class of flight cadets graduated.

On November 21, 1919, an army flying team called the Flying Carnival visited Eberts Field for stunt flying exhibitions. A crowd of more than 3,000 viewed one exhibition from the banks of the Arkansas River at Little Rock (Pulaski County), where the fliers in their open-cockpit flying machines appeared out of the skies at 3,000 feet to swoop under the Main Street Bridge spanning the river, the next day, about 2,000 boarded trains from Little Rock to see the daring fliers perform at Eberts Field.

The airfield was closed at the end of November 1919, and a small caretaker unit was assigned to the facility for administrative reasons, the War Department had ordered the small caretaker force at Eberts Field to dismantle all remaining structures and to sell them as surplus. The last Army personnel departed by the end of the year.[4] Between the wars, the airfield was used as Lonoke Municipal Airport.

Eberts Field was reopened by the United States Army Air Forces in 1942 as a contract glider training airfield. Training provided by Kenneth Starnes Flying Service. Used primarily C-47 Skytrains and Waco CG-4 unpowered Gliders, the mission of the school was to train glider pilot students in proficiency in operation of gliders in various types of towed and soaring flight, both day and night, and in servicing of gliders in the field.

Closed in 1943 and turned over to the Army Corps of Engineers. Eventually discharged to private ownership though the War Assets Administration (WAA).

Today, most of the airfield is flooded, being used in aquaculture as a shrimp farm. A row of at least a dozen concrete hangar foundations still exist, during Arkansas’s Sesquicentennial Celebration, the Lonoke County Arkansas Sesquicentennial Committee placed a marker with a brief history of where Eberts Field had been, located on the west side of Arkansas Highway 89, south of Interstate 40.

There was once a 20-foot mound of dirt at the northeast end of the field, this was once the target for many thousands of rounds of machine gun bullets. Here, the fledgling aviators learned some of the fundamentals of operating a machine gun while flying an airplane.

The lobby of Little Rock’s Aerospace Education Center houses a Flying Jenny that was flown at Eberts Field in that period.

1.
Ebbets Field
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Ebbets Field was a Major League Baseball stadium in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York City. It is known mainly as the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team of the National League, from 1913 to 1957, Ebbets Field was demolished in 1960 and replaced by apartment buildings. Ebbets Field was bounded by Bedford Avenue on the east, Sullivan Place on the South, Cedar Street on the west, and Montgomery Street on the north. The land included the site of a garbage dump called Pigtown, because of the pigs that once ate their fill there and the stench that filled the air. Construction began on March 4,1912, and the cornerstone, a piece of Connecticut granite that held newspapers, pictures of players, cards, telegrams. At the cornerstone laying ceremony, Ebbets said that the ballpark was going to be ready for play on September 1, when the park was opened, it was discovered that the flag, keys to the bleachers, and a press box had all been forgotten. The press box level was not added until 1929, the seating area was initially a double deck from past third base, around home plate, and all the way down the right side. There was an open, concrete bleacher stand extending the rest of the way down the base side to the outer wall. The right field wall was high due to the short foul line necessitated by the street immediately beyond it. The ballpark was built on a piece of ground. The right field wall made up the difference, as the right corner was above street level. The left field corner was below street level, and there was an incline or terrace running along the field wall. Ebbets Field was the scene of early successes, as the Robins. The seating area was expanded in the 1920s, a time for baseball when many ballparks were expanded. By the 1940s, a big scoreboard had been installed in right field, however, additional rows of seating across left field reduced that area by about 15 feet, to the delight of right-handed sluggers. The parks first night game was played on June 15,1938, johnny Vander Meer of the visiting Cincinnati Reds pitched his second consecutive no-hitter in that game, a feat that has never been duplicated in Major League Baseball. It was also in 1938 that Hilda Chester, one of the earlier sports superfans became a regular attendee when Larry MacPhail brought Ladies Days to Ebbets Field, after the early successes of the Dodgers, the team slid into hard times. The Dodgers won pennants in 1941,1947,1949,1952,1953,1955 and 1956, Ebbets Field also hosted the 1949 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

2.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation

3.
Air Service, United States Army
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The Air Service, United States Army was the military aviation service of the United States between 1918 and 1926 and a forerunner of the United States Air Force. It was established as an independent but temporary branch of the U. S and its life was extended for another year in July 1919, during which time Congress passed the legislation necessary to make it a permanent establishment. The National Defense Act of 1920 assigned the Air Service the status of combatant arm of the line of the United States Army with a general in command. By the end of the war, the Air Service used 45 squadrons to cover 137 kilometers of front from Pont-à-Mousson to Sedan,71 pursuit pilots were credited with shooting down five or more German aircraft while in American service. Overall the Air Service destroyed 756 enemy aircraft and 76 balloons in combat,17 balloon companies also operated at the front, making 1,642 combat ascensions. 289 airplanes and 48 balloons were lost in battle, the Air Service was the first form of the air force to have an independent organizational structure and identity. Although officers concurrently held rank in various branches, after May 1918 their branch designation in official correspondence while on aviation assignment changed from ASSC to AS, after July 1,1920, its personnel became members of the Air Service branch, receiving new commissions. Airmen such as Brig. Gen. Billy Mitchell supported the concept, the Armys senior leadership from World War I, the United States Navy, and the majority of the nations political leadership favored integration of all military aviation into the Army and Navy. Aided by a wave of pacifism following the war that drastically cut military budgets, opponents of an independent air force prevailed, the Air Service was renamed the Army Air Corps in 1926 as a compromise in the continuing struggle. The declaration of war against Germany on April 6,1917, putting the United States in World War I, came too quickly to solve emerging engineering and production problems. The reorganization of the Aviation Section had been inadequate in resolving problems in training, leaving the United States totally unprepared to fight an air war in Europe, the Aviation Section consisted of 131 officers,1087 enlisted men, and approximately 280 airplanes. The Board dispatched Major Raynal C, by the time the bill passed, the term Air Service was in widespread if unofficial usage to collectively describe all aspects of Army aviation. Even so, the Aircraft Board in practice had little control over procurement contracts, nor did the Equipment Division of the Signal Corps exercise such control. Though individual areas within the industry responded well, the industry as a whole failed. Efforts to mass produce European aircraft under license largely failed because the aircraft, at the same time the Aeronautical Division of the OCSO was renamed the Air Division with continued responsibility for training and operations but with no influence on acquisition or doctrine. In the end the process in aircraft procurement was badly fragmented. Borglum had exchanged letters with President Wilson, a friend, from which he assumed an appointment to investigate had been authorized. Both the U. S. Senate and the Department of Justice began investigations into possible fraudulent dealings, Kenly brought back from France to be its head, to separate supervision of aviation from the duties of the Chief Signal Officer

4.
United States Army Air Forces
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Each of these forces had a commanding general who reported directly to the Army Chief of Staff. S. Army to control its own installations and support personnel, the peak size of the AAF during the Second World War was over 2.4 million men and women in service and nearly 80,000 aircraft by 1944, and 783 domestic bases in December 1943. By V-E Day, the Army Air Forces had 1.25 million men stationed overseas, in its expansion and conduct of the war, the AAF became more than just an arm of the greater organization. By the end of World War II, the Army Air Forces had become virtually an independent service and this contrast between theory and fact is. fundamental to an understanding of the AAF. Gen. Billy Mitchell that led to his later court-martial, a strategy stressing precision bombing of industrial targets by heavily armed, long-range bombers emerged, formulated by the men who would become its leaders. Since 1920, control of units had resided with commanders of the corps areas. Both were created in 1933 when a conflict with Cuba seemed possible following a coup détat. Activation of GHQ Air Force represented a compromise between strategic airpower advocates and ground force commanders who demanded that the Air Corps mission remain tied to that of the land forces. GHQ Air Force organized combat groups administratively into a force of three wings deployed to the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts but was small in comparison to European air forces. Corps area commanders continued to control over airfields and administration of personnel. The expected activation of Army General Headquarters prompted Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall to request a study from Chief of the Air Corps Maj. Gen. Henry H. Arnold resulting on 5 October 1940 in a proposal for creation of an air staff, unification of the air arm under one commander, and equality with the ground and supply forces. Marshall implemented a compromise that the Air Corps found entirely inadequate, naming Arnold as acting Deputy Chief of Staff for Air but rejecting all organizational points of his proposal. GHQ Air Force instead was assigned to the control of Army General Headquarters, although the latter was a training and not an operational component, when it was activated in November 1940. A division of the GHQ Air Force into four air defense districts on 19 October 1940 was concurrent with the creation of air forces to defend Hawaii. The air districts were converted in March 1941 into numbered air forces with an organization of 54 groups. Marshall had come to the view that the air forces needed a simpler system, Arnold and Marshall agreed that the AAF would enjoy a general autonomy within the War Department until the end of the war, while its commanders would cease lobbying for independence. Marshall, a proponent of airpower, left understood that the Air Force would likely achieve its independence following the war

5.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany

6.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan

7.
Lonoke, Arkansas
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Lonoke is the second most populous city in Lonoke County, Arkansas, United States, and serves as its county seat. According to 2010 United States Census, the population of the city is 4,245 and it is part of the Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area. Lonokes history begins with the advance of Union troops through Central Arkansas during the American Civil War, the town of Brownsville was burned to the ground by Union forces after the retreat of Confederate forces westward to Little Rock. After the war, it was decided by the city leaders of Brownsville that a new town should be formed by the railroad so that those who wished to stay could do so. According to local legend, the town was named for a red oak tree that was found while trees were being chopped down in order to build houses. The official name of the city was originally Lone Oak, however, due to a misprint in the Lonoke Democrat newspaper, the towns name was printed as Lonoak. Eventually, this became further misspelled as Lonoke. The town of Lonoke was very slow to grow, Lonoke maintained a sustainable population through the support of its agricultural based economy until World War II. Because of the boom, Lonokes population began to reach higher numbers. Furthermore, Lonoke became a sort of area of Little Rock due to the implementation of the Interstate Highway System. In recent years, the population of Lonoke has remained in the area of about 4,000 people, as the Little Rock metropolitan area continues to grow, Lonokes population is expected to grow as well as Lonoke is becoming more suitable as a suburban area. Lonoke is in central Lonoke County, located at 34°47′3″N 91°54′3″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 4.6 square miles. Lonoke is governed by a form of city government, in which a mayor, other city administrators. The city is divided into eight districts, each represented on the council by an alderman, in addition to the mayor, the citys clerk, treasurer, attorney and district judge are also popularly elected. The city of Lonoke lacks post secondary institutions due to its small population, however, Lonoke does feature a public school district that includes a primary, elementary, middle, and. According to the National Institute for Higher Education, Lonoke High School has an average ACT score of 22, however, over 89% of the graduating class of high school from 1987 to 2007 has been accepted to an institution of higher education. Of those 89%, approximately 45% have attended Arkansas State University Beebe, the school has served Lonoke and surrounding areas since 1972, its main campus in downtown Lonoke was built in 1991

8.
Rockwell Field
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This airfield played a fundamental role in the development of United States military aviation in the period before and during World War I. Originally it was The Curtiss School of Aviation, founded by Glenn Curtiss, in November 1912, the Army established a permanent flying school on the island. It served as a flying school during World War I. The facility was transferred to the United States Navy on 31 January 1939, today, Rockwell Field forms the southeastern quadrant of what is today the Naval Air Station, North Island. The facility was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991, the field was originally called the Signal Corps Aviation School. It was the first U. S. Army school to provide flying training for military pilots, the Aviation School was officially established on North Island in 1912. At that time North Island really was an island, separated from South Coronado on the Silver Strand peninsula by a narrow bight of water, both North Island and South Coronado were privately owned, but North Island had not been developed. In January 1911, Curtiss signed a contract with the owner of North Island to use the land for three years for a school, which was established in February 1911. Curtiss invited the Army and the Navy to send officers to his new school for flying training, the Army sent three airmen to the Curtiss school in early 1911, but they were ordered to Texas before completion of their training. During the winter of 1911 to 1912, the Navy sent three pilots to the Curtiss school for flying training, the Wright group, organized as the 1st Provisional Aero Squadron, came to North Island after mobilizing in Texas in March. The Army flyers established a tent camp at the end of North Island, and for about a year. None of the buildings from this period, constructed on the north end of the island. Existing historic and architecturally significant buildings reflect the use and development of Rockwell Field from 1918 to 1935, on July 20,1917, the Signal Corps Aviation School was named Rockwell Field in honor of 2nd Lt. Lewis C. Rockwell, killed in the crash of Wright Model B, Signal Corps 4, also in July, the United States Congress authorized the President to proceed with the taking of North Island for Army and Navy aviation schools. There was a needed for trained pilots as the United States had entered World War I earlier in the year. President Woodrow Wilson signed an Executive Order in August 1917 for condemnation of the land, the Army turned over the north end of the island to the Navy and relocated to the south end of North Island, the location of the Rockwell Field Historic District. The Navys first occupancy of North Island occurred on September 8,1917, the Army selected well-known Detroit industrial architect, Albert Kahn, to develop a site and building designs. Permanent construction of Kahns design began in mid-1918, during World War I, Rockwell Field provided training for many of the pilots and crews sent to France

9.
Columbus Municipal Airport (New Mexico)
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Columbus Municipal Airport is an abandoned airport in New Mexico. Its origins date to 1916 when it was used by the Aviation Section and it was apparently closed and abandoned in the late 1970s. Today, efforts are being made to restore it to a general aviation airport, Columbus Municipal Airport is historically recognized as the birthplace of American air power. During the Mexican Revolution, hundreds of Pancho Villas horsemen crossed the United States border and raided Columbus, the town was looted and burned, and 17 Americans were killed. Wilson then ordered General John J. Pershing to pursue and disperse, one of Pershings first acts was to order the 1st Aero Squadron to Columbus to establish a base of operations. The squadron left Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas on 13 March, two days later it arrived in Columbus with eight Curtiss JN-3 aircraft,11 pilots and 82 enlisted men and established an airfield to the southeast of the town. The Curtiss aircraft were not in condition, however, despite their lack of readiness. The first reconnaissance flight into Mexico was made on 16 March, Captain Dodd piloting Airplane #44, Pershing crossed the border with 6,600 men a week after the Columbus raid. As the soldiers pushed south, hoping to encircle Villas forces, all of the eight airplanes of the Squadron were started in flight from Columbus at 5,10 P. M. on March 19. Due to motor trouble, one of the airplanes was compelled to return to Columbus, using its base in Columbus, the 1st Aero Squadron concentrated on carrying mail and dispatches between Columbus and Pershings Army columns moving south into Mexico. During the last few days of March, the planes flew approximately 20 missions with messages for the various columns of Pershings command. After the loss of most squadron aircraft in Mexico due to non-combat causes, the fliers arrived on 20 April 1916, and found four new Curtiss N-8s, an export version of the JN-4, the latest model of the Jenny. These were the first of 94 JN-4s ordered by the Army in 1916, the aviators tested their new planes during the last week of April and found them lacking. The Technical Aero Advisory and Inspection Board of the Signal Corps decided instead to equip the 1st Aero with the Curtiss R-2, which boasted a 160-hp engine. Twelve R-2s were delivered to the squadron in May, but the planes, the aircraft even lacked compasses, instruments and tool kits when they arrived. The experienced mechanics at Columbus soon put the planes into flying shape, the R-2s used in Mexico were eventually equipped with automatic cameras, radios and Lewis machine guns, as well as incendiary and explosive bombs. Despite the use of airplanes, the U. S. Army never managed to locate the elusive Pancho Villa, although the 1st Aero Squadron remained at Columbus until August 1917 when it was ordered to France after the United States entry into World War I. After World War I, Columbus Airfield was used by the Army as part of their patrol flights along the Mexican border, when the Border Patrol operation ended in June 1921, all airfields except Biggs Field in El Paso were closed and most units were reassigned to other stations

10.
Douglas C-47 Skytrain
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The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II, the specialized C-53 Skytrooper troop transport started production in October 1941 at Douglas Aircrafts Santa Monica, California plant. It lacked the cargo door, hoist attachment and reinforced floor of the C-47, only a total of 380 aircraft were produced in all because the C-47 was found to be more versatile. During World War II, the forces of many countries used the C-47 and modified DC-3s for the transport of troops, cargo. The U. S. Naval designation was R4D, more than 10,000 aircraft were produced in Long Beach and Santa Monica, California and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Between March 1943 and August 1945 the Oklahoma City plant produced 5,354 C-47s, additionally, C-47s were used to airlift supplies to the embattled American forces during the Battle of Bastogne. Possibly its most influential role in aviation, however, was flying The Hump from India into China. The expertise gained flying The Hump was later be used in the Berlin Airlift, in which the C-47 played a major role, until the aircraft were replaced by Douglas C-54 Skymasters. A C-47 flown by the China National Airways Corporation pilot Moon Chin, Moon Chin was tasked with flying from Chungking to Myitkyina, a military base in Burma. His aircraft was jumped by Japanese fighters and, after landing at a small airstrip to wait for his pursuers to give up the game. When Chins DC-3 arrived at Myitkyina, he found that the base had, indeed, been severely bombed by the Japanese, eventually, Chin would carry sixty-eight passengers and a crew of four on the final leg to India. After arriving in India, the tattered American approached Captain Chin, believe me, Chin, he began, if I had had any idea that you were going to jam that many people into this old crate I would have gone home the way I came. Chin inquired as to how that might have been and the American replied I flew in, the short, balding, bedraggled American was none other than Lt Col Jimmy Doolittle returning from the historic raid on Tokyo. In Europe, the C-47 and a specialised paratroop variant, the C-53 Skytrooper, were used in vast numbers in the stages of the war, particularly to tow gliders. During the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, C-47s dropped 4,381 Allied paratroops, more than 50,000 paratroops were dropped by C-47s during the first few days of the invasion of Normandy, France, in June 1944. In the Pacific War, with use of the island landing strips of the Pacific Ocean. About 2,000 C-47s in British and Commonwealth service took the name Dakota, the C-47 also earned the informal nickname gooney bird in the European theatre of operations. The United States Air Forces Strategic Air Command had Skytrains in service from 1946 through 1967, the US Air Forces 6th Special Operations Squadron was flying the C-47 until 2008

11.
Waco CG-4
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The Waco CG-4A was the most widely used American troop/cargo military glider of World War II. It was designated the CG-4A by the United States Army Air Forces, designed by the Waco Aircraft Company, flight testing began in May 1942, and eventually more than 13,900 CG-4As were delivered. The CG-4A was constructed of fabric-covered wood and metal and was crewed by a pilot and copilot and it had two fixed mainwheels and a tailwheel. The CG-4A could carry 13 troops and their equipment, cargo loads could be a 1⁄4ton truck, a 75 mm howitzer, or a 1⁄4ton trailer, loaded through the upward-hinged nose section. C-47s were usually used as tow aircraft, a few C-46 tugs were used during and after Operation Plunder. The USAAF CG-4A tow line was 11⁄16-inch-diameter nylon,350 feet long, the CG-4A pickup line was 15⁄16inch- -diameter nylon, but only 225 ft long including the doubled loop. In effort to identify areas where materials could be reduced. From 1942-1945, the Ford Motor Companys Kingsford plant built 4,190 Model CG-4A gliders for use in operations during World War II. The Kingsford plant built more CG-4A gliders than any company in the nation at much less cost than other manufacturers. The primary builders of the Model CG-4A gliders were located in Troy, Ohio, Greenville, Michigan, Astoria, New York, Kansas City, Missouri, St. Paul, Minnesota, and Kingsford, Michigan. One night-shift worker in the Wicks Aircraft Company factory in Kansas City wrote, in November 1942 the installation became Sedalia Army Air Field and was assigned to the 12th Troop Carrier Command of the United States Army Air Forces. The field served as a site for glider pilots and paratroopers. Assigned aircraft included the CG-4A glider, Curtiss C-46 Commando, the C-46 was not used as a glider tug in combat, however, until Operation Plunder in March 1945. CG-4As went into operation in July 1943 during the Allied invasion of Sicily and they were flown 450 miles across the Mediterranean from North Africa for the night-time assaults such as Operation Ladbrooke. Inexperience and poor conditions contributed to the heavy losses and they participated in the American airborne landings in Normandy on 6 June 1944, and in other important airborne operations in Europe and in the China Burma India Theater. While equipment and methods for extracting flyable gliders were developed and delivered to Europe, despite this lack of support for the recovery system, several gliders were recovered from Normandy and even more from Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands and Wesel, Germany. The CG-4A found favor where its size was a benefit. The larger British Airspeed Horsa could carry more troopers, and the British General Aircraft Hamilcar could carry 7 tons, but the CG-4A could land in smaller spaces

12.
Arkansas Highway 89
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Highway 89 is a highway in the central part of the U. S. state of Arkansas. Its southern terminus is at an intersection with U. S. Route 70 near the end of Lonoke. From there, it runs 7 miles north and west to Furlow then 8½ miles north to Highway 367 at Cabot, Arkansas, the largest city through which the highway runs. Within Cabot, it serves as a portion of two major commercial thoroughfares — first as South Pine Street from city limits into downtown, then turning westward as West Main Street. From Cabot, it runs approximately 6 miles west crossing Highway 5 at the Pulaski County/ Lonoke County before ending at Highway 1078 miles south of Vilonia, Arkansas. It resumes again 3½ miles south as Pulaski County Road 89 running west and it continues west 11 more miles intersecting Highway 365 1-mile north of Mayflower. From there, it travels south 1-mile then turns west again traveling approximately 5 miles before continuing as Lollie Road, Highway 89 Spur is a former spur route in Lonoke. It is 0.29 miles in length and it was deleted from the state highway system in 2014. Major intersections The entire route is in Lonoke, Lonoke County

13.
Interstate 40 in Arkansas
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Interstate 40 is an east–west Interstate Highway that has a 284. 69-mile section in the U. S. state of Arkansas connecting sections in Oklahoma to Tennessee. The route enters Arkansas from the west just north of the Arkansas River near Dora and it travels eastward across the northern portion of the state connecting the cities of Fort Smith, Clarksville, Russellville, Morrilton, Conway, Little Rock, Forrest City, and West Memphis. I-40 continues into Tennessee heading through Memphis, the highway has major junctions with Interstate 540 at Van Buren, Interstate 49 at Alma, Interstate 30 in Little Rock and Interstate 55 to Blytheville. For the majority of its routing through Arkansas, I-40 follows the alignment of two separate United States highways. From Oklahoma to Little Rock, Interstate 40 generally follows U. S. Route 64 through the Ozark Mountains, east of Little Rock, the route generally follows the routing of U. S. Route 70 until Tennessee. I-40 enters Arkansas from Oklahoma at Dora in Crawford County and it heads east into Van Buren, giving access to Fort Smith as well across the Arkansas River to the south. Access is primarily via Interstate 540/US71, which was built as a spur to Fort Smith in the 1970s. I-40 overlaps with US71, forming a concurrency until the alignment of US71 breaks north to Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, Bentonville, and its northern Arkansas terminus in Bella Vista. The route continues to parallel US64 into the Ozark Mountains by entering Franklin County, Interstate 40 runs through Clarksville, passes over part of Lake Dardanelle, and meets Highway 7 in Russellville. I40 continues to the east through Morrilton before turning south to Conway, in Conway, I-40 forms a concurrency with US65 at exit 125, which will continue until exit 153a in Little Rock. The highway also has another junction with US64 and US65 Business in Conway before passing Lake Conway, now in Pulaski County, I-40 heads towards the south-southeast as it heads to the town of Maumelle. It continues towards this direction until it reaches Interstate 430, which provides access along the side of Little Rock. I-40 continues east for 1.5 miles before the US 67/US167 concurrency turns north as a separate northeasterly expressway, from this point onward, Interstate 40 begins to parallel US70 rather than US64, which was a more or less a parallel route until Conway. The interstate continues to the east to intersect the concurrency of I-440/AR440 before entering Lonoke County, passing through Lonoke, the route runs through rural Arkansas with straight alignments and relatively few junctions, forming an overlap with US63 in Hazen and meeting US 49/AR17 in Brinkley. Upon entering St. Francis County, Interstate 40 runs northeast to Forrest City, continuing northeast, I-40 enters Crittenden County, where it intersects with US79 at Shearerville and enters West Memphis. The highway continues to the northeast to an interchange with Interstate 55, I-40 continues east onto the Hernando De Soto Bridge over the Mississippi River. The Tennessee border is at the midpoint of the river, and Memphis, media related to Interstate 40 in Arkansas at Wikimedia Commons

14.
31st Flying Training Wing (World War II)
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The 31st Flying Training Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Central Flying Training Command, and was disbanded on 30 December 1945 at Fort Worth Army Airfield, Texas. There is no lineage between the current United States Air Force 31st Fighter Wing, established on 6 November 1947 at Turner Army Airfield, Georgia, and this organization. The squadron was a World War II Command and Control unit, headquartered at Enid Army Airfield, Oklahoma for most of its operational service, it controlled contract pilot schools primarily in the Central United States. Until 1939, the Army Air Corps provided all flying training with military instructor pilots, beginning in 1939, it contracted with nine civilian flying schools to provide primary flight training. Primary training consisted of a course of 65 hours of flying instruction. As the United States prepared to enter World War II by expanding its number of flying squadrons, according to the contract, the government supplied students with training aircraft, flying clothes, textbooks, and equipment. The Air Corps also put a detachment at each school to supervise training, the schools furnished instructors, training sites and facilities, aircraft maintenance, quarters, and mess halls. From the Air Corps, schools received a fee of $1,170 for each graduate. The Primary Pilot Training used Boeing PT-17 or Fairchild PT-19 two-seater single-engine training aircraft, following the fall of France in 1940, the Air Corps upped its pilot production goal to 7,000 per year. To meet that goal, the Air Corps increased the capacity of its schools, the vast majority of contract primary pilot training ended in the spring of 1944 as part of the rundown of Army pilot training. The ones remaining open ended their operations in October,1945, the Fairchild PT-19 aircraft also could have the student pilot covered with a hood for Blind instrument flying training. afhra. af. mil/

15.
Army Air Forces Training Command
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Army Air Forces Training Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Headquarters, United States Army Air Forces, Training Command was the initial organization to which new recruits were assigned upon entry into the Army Air Forces during World War II. Its mission was the training of new personnel and the preparation of them for assignment to one of the air forces for military service. It focused on pilot and aircrew training, technical training, basic training of enlisted personnel and Officer Candidate School. It was inactivated on 1 July 1946 as part of the reorganization of the Army Air Forces after the war, with all assets and personnel were assigned to the new postwar Air Training Command. AAFTC was created as a result of the merger of the Army Air Forces Flying Training Command, constituted and established on 23 January 1942. Its mission was to train pilots, flying specialists, and combat crews, re-designated on or about 15 March 1942, after the Army Air Forces became an autonomous arm of the United States Army. During its lifetime, the command struggled with the challenge of a wartime expansion of the air forces. Throughout 1942, the need for combat crew personnel far exceeded the current, facilities were used to their maximum capacity as quickly as they could be stood up. Some schools were expanded while they were still under construction, during World War II, the training of its officers and enlisted men was one of the chief functions of the United States Army Air Forces, consuming a great deal of money, people, equipment, and time. Such training encompassed both flying personnel along with the support personnel needed to have a military force trained to defeat the enemy forces threatening the United States. Flying and flight operations of military aircraft, and the technical training necessary for the even larger numbers of men to be taught to service. The United States has traditionally fought its wars with a citizen military mobilized and trained after the emergency arises and its members on their induction into the military face an abrupt transition to a life and pattern of behavior altogether foreign to their previous experience. For their assistance the military has provided a period of basic military training. Only after completion of training are recruits, in theory. Upon entry into the Army Air Service in the 1920s, each man received some basic training, in 1935 efforts to change this arrangement began, but the real change occurred in 1939 when the Army proposed that each component arm and service set up their own enlisted replacement centers. In 1940 the War Department authorized the establishment of Air Corps enlisted replacement centers for the training of recruits. The Air Corps established the first of these centers at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, in the summer of 1940, since the road ahead for most AAF enlistees led toward some specialized technical training, the replacement centers were placed under the jurisdiction of the Air Corps Technical Training Command

16.
Army Air Forces Eastern Flying Training Command
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Army Air Forces Eastern Flying Training Command was a unit of the United States Army Air Forces. It was assigned to the Army Air Forces Training Command, stationed at Maxwell Field and it was inactivated on 15 December 1945. The command was established on 8 July 1940 by the Office of the Chief of Air Corps, as a result, the centralized training of aircrew was divided into three Training Centers, the Eastern, Gulf Coast and Western. Training schools were assigned to the Centers based on the geography of the United States, in July 1943, these Centers were re-designated as Eastern, Central and Western Training Commands. The schools operated by EFTC part of the Aviation Cadet Training Program and these were, Classification, This was the stage where it would be decided whether the cadet would train as a navigator, bombardier, or pilot Preflight, Ground training for all air cadets. Successful completion meant being assigned to a school for training. Washouts were returned to the regular Air Corps ranks for reassignment, primary, Taught basic flying using two-seater training aircraft. Usually taught by contract flying schools operated by the WFTC Basic, Formation flying, air navigation, advanced, Single or multi-engine aircraft schools for cadets becoming fighter, bomber or transport pilots. After graduation, the successful Air Cadet received his wings and were commissioned Second Lieutenants, in addition, experienced pilots in the field were sent to Training Command transition schools to acquire additional single or mulch-engine flying ratings. In addition to the American Air Cadets, Cadets from the British Royal Air Force, EFTC also operated aircrew schools for Navigators, Bombardiers and flexible aerial gunners. Radio operators were trained at Scott Field, Illinois. Other aircrew positions, such as B-29 flight engineers and RADAR operators were also trained later in the war as training requirements presented themselves and this included the first jet pilots in 1945. This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http, //www. afhra. af. mil/

17.
Flying Division, Air Training Command
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Flying Division, Air Training Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Air Training Command, stationed at Randolph Air Force Base and it was inactivated on 14 November 1949. The organization was organized in 1926 as the main pilot training organization for the Army Air Corps. During World War II, thousands of cadets were in training at various schools across the Central United States being trained as pilots for fighters, bombers. The command also trained the navigators, bombardiers and gunners necessary for the bombers to enemy targets in the combat areas overseas. After World War II ended, it became the primary pilot, with the demobilization of the Air Service after World War I, the Armys air arm remained quite small during most of the interwar period. Primary flight training was only at March Field in California. The pilot school course combined ground school and elementary flight training, Cadets flew training flights in wartime surplus Curtiss JN-4D Jennies and also deHavilland DH-4s. The first class of cadets at both March and Carlstrom were enlisted men from various Air Service units, civilians constituted most of the second class. Advanced training was held at Post Field, Fort Sill, Oklahoma for observers, pursuit and bombardment training took place at Kelly Field. On 4 June 1920, the National Defense Act of 1920 took effect, at the time, the Air Service had 1,155 Regular officers, by year’s end there were 975. Of that number, only 642 were pilots, a number of the students in the early class, especially at Carlstrom Field, were naval officers not destined for Army squadrons. However neither of the pilot schools had executive officers and that Carlstrom did not even have an Officer in Charge of Flying. The schools keenly felt the shortage of manpower. They did not have enough enlisted mechanics to keep the airplanes fully operational, too few instructors remained in the service to teach students, assuming that students could be recruited in reasonable numbers. For a time after the war, the grades of the Air Service held no vacancies. Furthermore, Congress forbade new Army enlistments in early 1921, which effectively curtailed training new cadets and it was decided to close March and Carlstrom and consolidate all flight training at Brooks and Kelly Fields. By 1 September 1922, the Air Service Primary Flying School 11th School Group was operational at Brooks, students graduating the primary flying school at Brooks Field went on to the Advanced Flying School at Kelly Field

18.
Western Flying Training Command
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The Western Flying Training Command was a command of the United States Army Air Forces. It was assigned to the Army Air Forces Training Command, stationed at Santa Ana Army Air Base and it was inactivated on 1 November 1945. The West Coast Air Corps Training Center was established on 8 July 1940 by the Office of the Chief of Air Corps as part of the expansion of the department of the Air Corps. As a result, the training of aircrew was divided into three Training Centers, the Eastern, Gulf Coast and Western. Training schools were assigned to the Centers based on the geography of the United States, in July 1943, these Centers were re-designated as Eastern, Central and Western Training Commands. The schools operated by WFTC part of the Aviation Cadet Training Program and these were, Classification, This was the stage where it would be decided whether the cadet would train as a navigator, bombardier, or pilot Preflight, Ground training for all air cadets. Successful completion meant being assigned to a school for training. Washouts were returned to the regular Air Corps ranks for reassignment, primary, Taught basic flying using two-seater training aircraft. Usually taught by contract flying schools operated by the WFTC Basic, Formation flying, air navigation, advanced, Single or multi-engine aircraft schools for cadets becoming fighter, bomber or transport pilots. After graduation, the successful Air Cadet received his wings and were commissioned Second Lieutenants, in addition, experienced pilots in the field were sent to Training Command transition schools to acquire additional single or mulch-engine flying ratings. In addition to the American Air Cadets, Cadets from the British Royal Air Force, WFTC also operated aircrew schools for Navigators, Bombardiers and flexible aerial gunners. Radio operators were trained at Scott Field, Illinois. Other aircrew positions, such as B-29 flight engineers and RADAR operators were also trained later in the war as training requirements presented themselves and this included the first jet pilots in 1945. This reflected the massive demobilization after the end of the war, on 15 December 1945 Western Flying Training Command consolidated with the Eastern Flying Training Command. The single entity became Army Air Forces Flying Training Command on 1 January 1946, with its headquarters at Randolph Field and this article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http, //www. afhra. af. mil/

19.
Army Air Forces Bombardier School
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A Bombardier School was a United States Army Air Forces facility that used bombing ranges for training aircrew. The elimination rate was 12%, and graduates transferred to a Second or Third Air Force training unit to join a crew being trained for overseas duty, the bombardier trainer used was the Beech AT-11 Kansan. With the Bradley Plan increase in Eighth Air Force aircrews needed for the Combined Bomber Offensive, Bombardier schools of the Gulf Coast Air Corps Training Center and the West Coast Air Corps Training Center included the GCACTCs Big Spring Army Air Force Bombardier School. Its first class of cadets arrived Sept.16,1942, the other was WCACTCs 38th Flying Training Wing at Williams Army Airfield, Arizona—later moved to Kirtland Field, New Mexico). The GCACTCs Advanced Twin Engine and Bombardier Training Center at Midland Army Airfield was redesignated an Army Air Forces Bombardier School on September 26,1942. The Midland school operated 23 bombing ranges in West Texas, the WCACTCs Kirtland Field bombardier school that operated ranges west of Albuquerque was depicted in the 1943 Bombardier film. The first graduates with dual ratings as Navigator/Bombardier were in April 1944, in addition to visual bomb scoring and sound ranging for determining scores for bombardiers, Radar Bomb Scoring began during World War II. RBS detachments in the Army Air Force were later established at Denver, Chicago, Omaha, Albuquerque)

20.
Technical Division, Air Training Command
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Technical Division, Air Training Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was assigned to the Air Training Command, stationed at Scott Air Force Base and it was inactivated on 14 November 1949. Technical training in the Air Service began about the time as pilot training. In order to keep its airplanes operational, there was a need for skilled mechanics, at first, men who already possessed some mechanical experience received training at civilian trade schools and state universities. Problems arouse and the led the Army set up two mechanic schools, one at Kelly Field, Texas and another in a large building in St Paul. During World War I, the school at Kelly Field had trained over 2,000 more mechanics, though the school in St Paul closed after the end of the war, Kelly remained in operation and trained some 5,000 more mechanics before January 1921. When the supply depot at Love Field, Dallas, closed in 1921 and moved to Kelly, the facility at Chanute was re-designated as the Air Corps Technical School in 1926, with the former separate schools becoming Departments. In 1930, two more Departments were established at Chanute, the Department of Clerical Instruction and the Department of Armament, Technical training expanded in 1938 at Lowry Field, Colorado, when the Photography, Armament and Clerical instruction were moved from Chanute to the new facilities in Denver. In 1939, Scott Field, Illinois, came under the Air Corps Technical School when the Department of Basic Instruction and it moved to Chanute in 1940 when Scott became the Air Corps Radio school. On 1 June 1939, the Air Corps Technical School at Chanute Field was elevated to the Command level, with the expansion of the Air Corps after May 1940, technical training was expanded rapidly. To accommodate this growth in students, additional installations were established. New technical training bases included Keesler Field, Mississippi, and Sheppard Field, Texas, the heavy burden of the greatly expanded program for technical training had forced the Air Corps to establish the Air Corps Technical Training Command on 1 March 1941. Temporary headquarters for the new command was established at Chanute Field on 26 March, In September a permanent headquarters for the command was selected at Tulsa, further decentralization was achieved by grouping the technical schools into two districts. These were, First Technical Training District, Greensboro Center, North Carolina Second Technical Training District, on 31 July 1943, the Army Air Forces reorganized AAF Training Command with the establishment of subordinate commands, three for flying training and three for technical training. The five districts that had belonged to Technical Training Command were disbanded and realigned, the Fifth District in Miami Beach was absorbed into the ETTC. the Central Technical Training Command in St. Louis was discontinued 1 March 1944. All schools previously in the command, with the exception of Keesler Field. Keesler went to the western command, simultaneously, the headquarters of Eastern Technical Training Command moved from Greensboro, North Carolina, to St Louis. Its headquarters was moved to Scott Field, Illinois, most training schools were closed as part of the demobilization of the armed forces

21.
USAAF Western Technical Training Command
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Western Technical Training Command was a command of the United States Army Air Forces. It was assigned to the Army Air Forces Training Command, and stationed at Denver and it was inactivated on 15 October 1945. See also, Technical Division, Air Training Command for additional history The command was established initially on 1 November 1941 as a result of the expansion of the Air Corps after May 1940. Fort Logan appears to have come under the jurisdiction on 1 March 1941. Circa January 1943, Lowrys courses for communications, engineering, armament, on 31 July 1943, the new Western Training Training Command was activated. It was a redesignation of the Fourth Technical Training District and also absorbed a portion of the former Third Technical Training District that had been headquartered at Tulsa. The Central Technical Training Command in St. Louis was discontinued 1 March 1944, keesler Field was the only installation added to WTTC as a result of the disestablishment of CTTC. With the end of the war in September 1945, on 15 October Western Technical Training Command was inactivated, all its units and stations were reassigned to the Eastern Technical Training Command. Established as Fourth Technical Training District, on 1 November 1941 Re-designated, Western Technical Training Command, on 31 August 1943 Inactivated on 15 October 1945. afhra. af. mil/

During World War II civilian flying schools, under government contract, provided a considerable part of the flying …

A flying cadet and his instructor stand next to a PT-17 Stearman at Souther Field, Americus, Georgia.

Flight Cadets Marching along Flight Line in front of their Fairchild PT-19 trainers at Sequoia Field, California in 1943. Richard Bong, the United States' highest-scoring air ace in World War II, learned to fly at Sequoia Field in 1942.

Arledge Field, Texas, 1943. Flight Instructors from the Lou Foote Flying Service stand in front of their Fairchild PT-19 Trainers

Flight Cadets prepare with their instructors to learn to fly the Boeing PT-17 Stearman at the Rankin Aeronautical Academy, California, 1943.